The periodicity and recurrence of lunar (and solar) eclipses is governed by the Saros cycle, a period of approximately 6,585.3 days (18 years 11 days 8 hours). When two eclipses are separated by a period of one Saros, they share a very similar geometry. The two eclipses occur at the same node[1] with the Moon at nearly the same distance from Earth and at the same time of year. Thus, the Saros is useful for organizing eclipses into families or series. Each series typically lasts 12 to 15 centuries and contains 70 or more lunar eclipses.
Lunar eclipses of Saros 44 all occur at the Moon’s ascending node and the Moon moves southward with each eclipse. The series began with a penumbral eclipse near the northern edge of the penumbra on -1199 Jan 06. The series ended with a penumbral eclipse near the southern edge of the penumbra on 0153 Mar 27. The total duration of Saros series 44 is 1352.26 years. In summary:
First Eclipse = -1199 Jan 06 03:55:50 TD
Last Eclipse = 0153 Mar 27 19:31:47 TD
Duration of Saros 44 = 1352.26 Years
Saros 44 is composed of 76 lunar eclipses as follows:
| Lunar Eclipses of Saros 44 | |||
| Eclipse Type | Symbol | Number | Percent |
| All Eclipses | - | 76 | 100.0% |
| Penumbral | N | 36 | 47.4% |
| Partial | P | 13 | 17.1% |
| Total | T | 27 | 35.5% |
The 76 lunar eclipses in Saros 44 occur in the order of 12N 6P 27T 7P 24N which corresponds to:
12 Penumbral
6 Partial
27 Total
7 Partial
24 Penumbral
The longest and shortest eclipses of Saros 44 are as follows.
Longest Total Lunar Eclipse: -0568 Jan 19 Duration = 01h43m46s
Shortest Total Lunar Eclipse: -0406 Apr 26 Duration = 00h31m42s
Longest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0893 Jul 08 Duration = 03h23m51s
Shortest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0280 Jul 10 Duration = 01h13m51s
Longest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -1001 May 05 Duration = 04h46m14s
Shortest Penumbral Lunar Eclipse: -1199 Jan 06 Duration = 00h33m39s
The largest and smallest magnitude partial eclipses of Saros 44 are:
Largest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0388 May 06 Magnitude = 0.9075
Smallest Partial Lunar Eclipse: -0280 Jul 10 Magnitude = 0.1078
Local circumstances at greatest eclipse[2] for every lunar eclipse of Saros 44 are presented in the following catalog. For eclipses occurring between the years -1999 to +3000 (2000 BCE to 3000 CE), the sequence number in the first column links to a eclipse geometry diagram and a map from Five Millennium Canon of Lunar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000. A detailed key and additional information about the catalog can be found at: Key to Catalog of Lunar Eclipse Saros Series.
TD of Phase
Seq. Rel. Calendar Greatest Luna Ecl. Pen. Um. ---- Durations ----
Num. Num. Date Eclipse ΔT Num Type QSE Gamma Mag. Mag. Pen. Par. Total
s m m m
01 -35 -1199 Jan 06 03:55:50 29017 -39567 N t- 1.5724 0.0121 -1.0659 33.7 - -
02 -34 -1181 Jan 17 11:47:28 28671 -39344 N t- 1.5576 0.0389 -1.0387 60.3 - -
03 -33 -1163 Jan 27 19:30:11 28327 -39121 N t- 1.5366 0.0771 -0.9997 84.7 - -
04 -32 -1145 Feb 08 03:02:17 27986 -38898 N t- 1.5076 0.1298 -0.9459 109.6 - -
05 -31 -1127 Feb 18 10:24:38 27646 -38675 N t- 1.4714 0.1954 -0.8789 133.9 - -
06 -30 -1109 Mar 01 17:35:13 27308 -38452 N t- 1.4266 0.2770 -0.7959 158.5 - -
07 -29 -1091 Mar 12 00:36:33 26973 -38229 N t- 1.3747 0.3716 -0.6999 182.3 - -
08 -28 -1073 Mar 23 07:27:29 26640 -38006 N t- 1.3148 0.4809 -0.5893 205.5 - -
09 -27 -1055 Apr 02 14:09:22 26308 -37783 N t- 1.2477 0.6033 -0.4656 227.8 - -
10 -26 -1037 Apr 13 20:43:24 25979 -37560 N t- 1.1743 0.7376 -0.3305 248.9 - -
11 -25 -1019 Apr 24 03:11:14 25652 -37337 N t- 1.0957 0.8813 -0.1861 268.4 - -
12 -24 -1001 May 05 09:34:43 25327 -37114 Nx t- 1.0136 1.0320 -0.0352 286.2 - -
13 -23 -0983 May 15 15:53:33 25004 -36891 P t- 0.9274 1.1901 0.1229 302.5 85.2 -
14 -22 -0965 May 26 22:11:59 24683 -36668 P t- 0.8405 1.3498 0.2820 316.7 126.2 -
15 -21 -0947 Jun 06 04:29:37 24364 -36445 P t- 0.7525 1.5118 0.4432 329.2 154.4 -
16 -20 -0929 Jun 17 10:49:50 24047 -36222 P t- 0.6663 1.6706 0.6007 339.8 175.3 -
17 -19 -0911 Jun 27 17:11:41 23732 -35999 P t- 0.5812 1.8275 0.7561 348.7 191.6 -
18 -18 -0893 Jul 08 23:40:22 23419 -35776 P t- 0.5012 1.9753 0.9020 355.8 203.8 -
19 -17 -0875 Jul 19 06:14:08 23109 -35553 T t- 0.4249 2.1164 1.0410 361.5 213.3 33.2
20 -16 -0857 Jul 30 12:56:04 22800 -35330 T t- 0.3548 2.2462 1.1683 365.8 220.2 64.5
21 -15 -0839 Aug 09 19:45:55 22494 -35107 T t- 0.2910 2.3646 1.2843 369.0 225.2 80.3
22 -14 -0821 Aug 21 02:46:38 22189 -34884 T+ pp 0.2358 2.4671 1.3843 371.2 228.5 89.7
23 -13 -0803 Aug 31 09:56:42 21887 -34661 T+ pp 0.1876 2.5567 1.4715 372.7 230.7 95.7
24 -12 -0785 Sep 11 17:16:40 21587 -34438 T+ pp 0.1470 2.6322 1.5449 373.5 232.0 99.4
25 -11 -0767 Sep 22 00:46:46 21288 -34215 T+ pp 0.1142 2.6934 1.6041 373.9 232.7 101.5
26 -10 -0749 Oct 03 08:27:00 20992 -33992 T+ pp 0.0893 2.7400 1.6491 373.9 232.9 102.7
27 -09 -0731 Oct 13 16:15:18 20698 -33769 T+ pp 0.0704 2.7751 1.6833 373.7 232.9 103.3
28 -08 -0713 Oct 25 00:11:45 20406 -33546 T+ pp 0.0577 2.7986 1.7063 373.2 232.6 103.6
29 -07 -0695 Nov 04 08:14:04 20116 -33323 T+ pp 0.0491 2.8142 1.7222 372.6 232.3 103.6
30 -06 -0677 Nov 15 16:21:53 19829 -33100 T+ pp 0.0445 2.8222 1.7312 371.8 232.0 103.6
31 -05 -0659 Nov 26 00:30:37 19543 -32877 T+ pp 0.0401 2.8293 1.7401 370.9 231.6 103.6
32 -04 -0641 Dec 07 08:42:05 19259 -32654 T+ pp 0.0374 2.8331 1.7465 369.8 231.2 103.6
33 -03 -0623 Dec 17 16:51:14 18977 -32431 T+ pp 0.0327 2.8400 1.7567 368.6 230.9 103.6
34 -02 -0605 Dec 29 00:58:47 18698 -32208 T+ pp 0.0258 2.8506 1.7714 367.3 230.5 103.6
35 -01 -0586 Jan 08 09:00:11 18420 -31985 T+ pp 0.0133 2.8711 1.7966 365.9 230.1 103.7
36 00 -0568 Jan 19 16:58:05 18145 -31762 T- pp -0.0026 2.8880 1.8189 364.4 229.7 103.8
37 01 -0550 Jan 30 00:48:18 17872 -31539 T- pp -0.0252 2.8436 1.7803 362.7 229.2 103.6
38 02 -0532 Feb 10 08:31:35 17600 -31316 T- pp -0.0544 2.7869 1.7298 360.8 228.5 103.0
39 03 -0514 Feb 20 16:06:46 17331 -31093 T- pp -0.0908 2.7169 1.6661 358.7 227.4 101.7
40 04 -0496 Mar 02 23:35:06 17051 -30870 T- pp -0.1340 2.6343 1.5901 356.1 225.8 99.2
TD of Phase
Seq. Rel. Calendar Greatest Luna Ecl. Pen. Um. ---- Durations ----
Num. Num. Date Eclipse ΔT Num Type QSE Gamma Mag. Mag. Pen. Par. Total
s m m m
41 05 -0478 Mar 14 06:55:55 16733 -30647 T- pp -0.1841 2.5392 1.5015 353.2 223.5 95.0
42 06 -0460 Mar 24 14:10:02 16424 -30424 T- pp -0.2405 2.4323 1.4011 349.6 220.2 88.3
43 07 -0442 Apr 04 21:18:27 16124 -30201 T -p -0.3027 2.3151 1.2900 345.3 215.8 78.2
44 08 -0424 Apr 15 04:22:11 15832 -29978 T -p -0.3698 2.1890 1.1698 340.1 209.9 62.2
45 09 -0406 Apr 26 11:21:26 15547 -29755 T -t -0.4415 2.0547 1.0409 334.1 202.4 31.7
46 10 -0388 May 06 18:18:57 15270 -29532 P -t -0.5156 1.9163 0.9075 327.0 193.0 -
47 11 -0370 May 18 01:15:00 14999 -29309 P -t -0.5918 1.7741 0.7698 319.0 181.5 -
48 12 -0352 May 28 08:12:29 14735 -29086 P -t -0.6677 1.6329 0.6326 310.0 167.7 -
49 13 -0334 Jun 08 15:10:15 14477 -28863 P -t -0.7442 1.4908 0.4938 300.0 150.9 -
50 14 -0316 Jun 18 22:12:43 14225 -28640 P -h -0.8177 1.3546 0.3604 289.4 131.1 -
51 15 -0298 Jun 30 05:18:17 13979 -28417 P -h -0.8896 1.2215 0.2295 277.8 106.3 -
52 16 -0280 Jul 10 12:30:42 13737 -28194 P -h -0.9565 1.0980 0.1078 266.0 73.8 -
53 17 -0262 Jul 21 19:48:21 13501 -27971 N -a -1.0198 0.9812 -0.0079 253.7 - -
54 18 -0244 Aug 01 03:15:32 13270 -27748 N -a -1.0763 0.8771 -0.1112 241.7 - -
55 19 -0226 Aug 12 10:50:16 13043 -27525 N -a -1.1276 0.7828 -0.2052 229.8 - -
56 20 -0208 Aug 22 18:34:35 12821 -27302 N -a -1.1720 0.7013 -0.2866 218.6 - -
57 21 -0190 Sep 03 02:28:11 12604 -27079 N -a -1.2096 0.6323 -0.3558 208.4 - -
58 22 -0172 Sep 13 10:31:52 12390 -26856 N -a -1.2398 0.5771 -0.4113 199.7 - -
59 23 -0154 Sep 24 18:44:55 12181 -26633 N -a -1.2635 0.5338 -0.4549 192.3 - -
60 24 -0136 Oct 05 03:05:50 11975 -26410 N -a -1.2817 0.5005 -0.4885 186.4 - -
61 25 -0118 Oct 16 11:35:43 11773 -26187 N -a -1.2935 0.4790 -0.5101 182.3 - -
62 26 -0100 Oct 26 20:12:08 11574 -25964 N -a -1.3006 0.4659 -0.5230 179.6 - -
63 27 -0082 Nov 07 04:54:46 11379 -25741 N -a -1.3034 0.4605 -0.5278 178.2 - -
64 28 -0064 Nov 17 13:40:41 11186 -25518 N -a -1.3040 0.4588 -0.5285 177.5 - -
65 29 -0046 Nov 28 22:30:03 10997 -25295 N -a -1.3026 0.4607 -0.5252 177.5 - -
66 30 -0028 Dec 09 07:19:38 10810 -25072 N -a -1.3014 0.4619 -0.5221 177.3 - -
67 31 -0010 Dec 20 16:08:29 10626 -24849 N -a -1.3012 0.4610 -0.5205 176.7 - -
68 32 0008 Dec 31 00:54:48 10444 -24626 N -a -1.3035 0.4553 -0.5234 175.3 - -
69 33 0027 Jan 11 09:37:50 10264 -24403 N -a -1.3087 0.4442 -0.5313 173.0 - -
70 34 0045 Jan 21 18:14:53 10086 -24180 N -a -1.3193 0.4229 -0.5490 168.8 - -
71 35 0063 Feb 02 02:46:05 9909 -23957 N -a -1.3352 0.3919 -0.5762 162.7 - -
72 36 0081 Feb 12 11:10:06 9734 -23734 N -a -1.3572 0.3496 -0.6146 154.0 - -
73 37 0099 Feb 23 19:27:49 9561 -23511 N -a -1.3845 0.2976 -0.6628 142.5 - -
74 38 0117 Mar 06 03:36:01 9388 -23288 N -a -1.4199 0.2306 -0.7259 126.0 - -
75 39 0135 Mar 17 11:38:17 9216 -23065 N -a -1.4604 0.1545 -0.7984 103.7 - -
76 40 0153 Mar 27 19:31:47 9044 -22842 Ne -a -1.5084 0.0647 -0.8849 67.6 - -
[1] The Moon's orbit is inclined about 5 degrees to Earth's orbit around the Sun. The points where the lunar orbit intersects the plane of Earth's orbit are known as the nodes. The Moon moves from south to north of Earth's orbit at the ascending node, and from north to south at the descending node.
[2]Greatest eclipse is defined as the instant when Moon passes closest to the axis of Earth's shadow.
The Gregorian calendar is used for all dates from 1582 Oct 15 onwards. Before that date, the Julian calendar is used. For more information on this topic, see Calendar Dates. The Julian calendar does not include the year 0. Thus the year 1 BCE is followed by the year 1 CE (See: BCE/CE Dating Conventions ). This is awkward for arithmetic calculations. Years in this catalog are numbered astronomically and include the year 0. Historians should note there is a difference of one year between astronomical dates and BCE dates. Thus, the astronomical year 0 corresponds to 1 BCE, and astronomical year -1 corresponds to 2 BCE, etc..
The coordinates of the Sun used in these predictions are based on the VSOP87 theory [Bretagnon and Francou, 1988]. The Moon's coordinates are based on the ELP-2000/82 theory [Chapront-Touze and Chapront, 1983]. For more information, see: Solar and Lunar Ephemerides. The revised value used for the Moon's secular acceleration is n-dot = -25.858 arc-sec/cy*cy, as deduced from the Apollo lunar laser ranging experiment (Chapront, Chapront-Touze, and Francou, 2002).
The largest uncertainty in the eclipse predictions is caused by fluctuations in Earth's rotation due primarily to tidal friction of the Moon. The resultant drift in apparent clock time is expressed as ΔT and is determined as follows:
A series of polynomial expressions have been derived to simplify the evaluation of ΔT for any time from -1999 to +3000. The uncertainty in ΔT over this period can be estimated from scatter in the measurements.
The Besselian elements used in the predictions were kindly provided by Jean Meeus. All eclipse calculations are by Fred Espenak, and he assumes full responsibility for their accuracy. Some of the information presented on this web site is based on data originally published in Five Millennium Canon of Lunar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000 and Five Millennium Catalog of Lunar Eclipses: -1999 to +3000.
Permission is freely granted to reproduce this data when accompanied by an acknowledgment:
"Eclipse Predictions by Fred Espenak and Jean Meeus (NASA's GSFC)"
